BORAS, Sweden -- It's no accident that a brand-new Epson printer is about to be reduced to a burning heap of molten plastic in a hangar near this little town in Northern Sweden. Margaret Simonson places a tiny burning pill under the edge of the machine, and the little flame -- designed to simulate a match -- spreads quickly. "Thirty seconds to ignition," Ms. Simonson says somberly.

A few minutes later, flames are dancing all over the printer, disgorging acrid clouds of black smoke. Ms. Simonson, meanwhile, keeps...